Anna Judith Gertrud Helene Kerr was a German-born British writer and illustrator whose books sold more than 10 million copies around the world. She created both enduring picture books such as the Mog series and The Tiger Who Came to Tea and acclaimed novels for older children such as the semi-autobiographical When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, which gave a child's-eye view of the Second World War. Born in the Weimar Republic, of Jewish background, she came to Britain with her family in 1935 during the rise of the Nazis.
Youth
Kerr was born in Berlin, the daughter of Alfred Kerr, a theatre critic, and Julia Kerr, a composer who was the daughter of a Prussian politician. Judith Kerr had a brother, Michael. Her parents were both from German Jewish families. Early in March 1933, the family heard a rumour that, should the Nazis come to power in the forthcoming election, they planned to confiscate their passports and arrest Alfred Kerr for having openly criticised the party. The family fled Germany for Switzerland on the morning of the election and later learned that the Nazis had come to their home in Berlin the following morning to arrest them. Alfred Kerr's books were burned by the Nazis shortly after he fled Germany. The family later travelled to France, before finally settling in Britain in 1936, where Judith Kerr lived for the remainder of her life. She subsequently became a naturalised British subject.
Life in London
During the Second World War, Judith Kerr worked for the Red Cross, helping wounded soldiers, before being awarded a scholarship to study at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and becoming an artist. She met her future husband, screenwriter Nigel "Tom" Kneale, in the BBC canteen. He wrote the cult TV science-fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment for which Kerr helped make and operate the special effects. Kneale later prompted her to apply for a job as a BBC television scriptwriter. Kerr and Kneale were married in 1954; they remained married until his death in 2006. They had two children, a daughter Tacy and a son Matthew. Matthew is also a writer, winning the Book of the Year prize at the Whitbread Book Awards in 2000 for the novel English Passengers. Tacy is an actress, animatronics artist and painter; as an animatronics designer, she initially worked for Jim Henson's Creature Shop before working independently in special effects. She has worked on films including Lost in Space, Dog Soldiers, and the first four Harry Potter films. As an artist, she primarily paints insects. Kerr lived in the same house in Barnes, London, from 1962 until her death on the 22nd May 2019.
Books
Kerr is best known for her children's books. Although she dreamed of being a famous writer as a child, she only started writing and drawing books when her own children were learning to read. She wrote self-illustrated picture titles, such as the 17-book Mog series and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. The character of Mog was based on a real-life tabby who would sit on Kerr's lap as she worked. As well as young children's books, Kerr wrote children's novels such as the semi-autobiographical Out of the Hitler Time trilogy, which tell the story, from a child's perspective, of the rise of the Nazis in 1930s Germany and life as a refugee, life in Britain during World War II and life during the post war years and the Cold War respectively. Again it was her children who occasioned this writing: when her son was eight he saw The Sound of Music and remarked, "now we know what it was like when Mummy was a little girl". Kerr wanted him to know what it was really like and so wrote When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. The story was based on her regret over choosing to take a stuffed dog toy with her when her family fled Germany rather than a beloved pink rabbit toy. The young adult novel won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1974. Kerr said that since the death of her husband writing had become more important than ever. She continued to write and illustrate children's books: Twinkles, Arthur and Puss was published in 2008, and One Night in the Zoo in 2009. Kerr was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to children's literature and Holocaust education.
Death and legacy
Kerr died at her home on 22 May 2019, aged 95, following a short illness. In 2013 Britain's first bilingual state school in English and German, the in Herne Hill, south London, was named after her. In May 2019, a week before her death, she was nominated as illustrator of the year at the British Book Awards. An archive of her illustrations is held at the Seven Stories centre in Newcastle upon Tyne.
